Matvei Michkov is spending his summer with one goal in mind: making sure the next Flyers season starts differently than the last one did for him.
The 21-year-old winger said he has not taken a vacation at all, choosing to stay in work mode as he prepares for his third NHL season and the final year of his entry-level deal. After a rough start to his sophomore year, Michkov eventually surged to finish as the Flyers’ leading scorer in their season-ending push to the playoffs. But his playoff line - one assist in eight games - only added to the sense that this offseason mattered.
“There was no vacation at all, because an important season is ahead. I need to play well, I want that myself.
So, I need to keep my body in shape at all times,” Michkov said via RG. “ What did I learn from last season?
That you need to prepare well for the season, not treat it carelessly.”
According to Michkov, the Flyers sent Slava Kuznetsov to oversee a two-week stretch of training that packed a lot into a short window. The work included three sessions a day: gym work and strength training in the morning, ice in the middle, and another physical-conditioning session in the evening.
“Philadelphia sent a coach to oversee my preparation for the start of next season. We worked for two weeks, doing three practices a day.
In the morning there was the gym, a strength workout, then we’d go to the ice, and in the evening there was another session - for physical conditioning. Unfortunately, the coach didn’t have that much time, so he wanted to fit everything into two weeks,” Michkov said, via RG.
Since that stretch, Michkov has also been skating and training with other NHL names, including Mikhail Sergachev and Artemi Panarin in the workout group organized by the Los Angeles Kings winger. Panarin, in particular, is someone Michkov says he wants to learn from.
“You can learn everything from Artemi - from passing to shooting. I think you can take a lot from Panarin. It definitely won’t hurt,” he said.
For now, Michkov is still working through his training cycles in Russia. After playing in the “Match of the Year” charity game on Saturday, he said there are no other commitments keeping him overseas.
“My training in Russia is still ongoing. There are certain cycles, and once they’re done, I’ll fly to America.”
There isn’t a firm date for his return to Voorhees, but the expectation is that he’ll be back in the early days of August.
Michkov also had a chance to react to another major name linked to Philadelphia: LeBron James signing a two-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. The winger said the move matters both for the city and for him personally.
“This is just great. I love basketball, and the fact that LeBron signed in Philadelphia means a lot,” Michkov said.
“I think for the city itself, and for me too. Now it’ll be even more interesting to go to games and watch a player that great perform.
If they win, I think all of Philadelphia will be happy. We’ll be supporting them.”
The Flyers open training camp on September 17, with rookie camp set for the week before that. For now, the clock is ticking toward Michkov’s return, and toward the first real look at how this offseason work shows up on the ice.
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